Master of Science International Management, FHNW School of Business

In the first two semesters, you complete the core coursework modules, except for the project and research modules depending on your study mode. The master thesis is in the final semester. The research proposal is in the preceding semester before the master thesis.

International Managerial Research Methods
This advanced qualitative and quantitative research design module prepares students to undertake business or management research at master’s level. Emphasis is placed on applying the skills that lead to a successful closure of a research journey focused on a contemporary business or management phenomenon identified by students in the role as either academic or practitioner researchers. Students will gain confidence in a range of cognitive and practical skills (including software tools) suitable to conducting research projects in a range of international business contexts.

Cross-cultural Management, Leadership and Internationalisation (Global Live Challenge Project with international collaborators)
This module strives to develop the management, leadership and strategic thinking skills of students through understanding the critical role of culture in this process and the skills needed to manage, position a firm to compete internationally, explore opportunities for internationalisation, as well as managerial relationships with others. Other topics include the applicability of leadership theories across cultures, cross-cultural differences, international negotiation, corporate governance, creating value for stakeholders and strategy. Students will work with a team of international collaborators and participate in a highly recognised award winning global cross-cultural organisation of corporate projects and real international challenges.

Strategic Financial Decision Making and FinTech (with real tasks from a multinational company)
The module provides future (non-financial) executives with tools and concepts to make important financial decisions and the era of FinTech that can critically enhance their institution’s ability to respond to competitive challenges, undertake new projects, overcome financial setbacks, and most importantly, create shareholder value. Students will work with a multinational company on the concept of risk mitigation and how to quantify the impact on the balance sheet.

Cooperative Learning Project (with corporate coaches)
Every student will be assigned to a corporate coach to develop their thinking skills and scientific skills, as well as to advance a student’s ability to be a competent researcher and reader for practical relevance. Students explore a focal topic related to cross-country or international comparison, cross-cultural or inter-cultural intelligence, international opportunities or internationalisation process.

Research Proposal and Master Thesis (a one-year research process)
The research proposal and master thesis is a one-year research process which applies scientific and empirical research methods of a research direction. A student works independently under the supervision of an academic and/or corporate sponsors. The student combines knowledge from learned modules to develop an empirical research project with an international or cross-culture context that has implications for knowledge development, corporate strategy, economy, and society. The research proposal aims to guide a student through their research journey in a constructive and efficient manner before embarking into an empirical investigation of an international or cross-culture management, marketing or business-related problem or opportunity. The master’s thesis with a final defence presentation is the last module which the student embarks before graduation.

You can complete electives across all semesters of study. Most of our electives are in collaboration with international and local companies or organisations. You will work on recent scenarios with contributing companies throughout their learning.

The programme also offers international electives* which are intensive and on-site learning at partner universities and organisations. These intensive learning experiences take place during the semester’s and mid-semester's break.

You can connect and engage with students and companies in a foreign country and experiencing their organisational and social cultures. You work on projects featuring different commercial and development contexts, including enrichment activities for a prospective or developing region.

You also can choose a module from the MSc Business Information Systems programme.

* Subject to conditions, no travel restriction (alternative plan may be offered if travel is restricted) and additional cost may apply.

Select 7 Electives from a list of offers (6 ECTS each, Total 42 ECTS).

Corporate Focus on Business and Management (Corporate linked)
In collaboration with twelve companies, students gain new insights of the extraordinarily challenging times that many businesses face in the situation of uncertainty, where new adaption and crisis management are an ongoing basis during an unforeseen circumstance. Related topics include the new customer experience management, business value, multichannel management, open banking, sustainability, corporate responsibility, global trade tensions, change in strategic projects and business consultancy, digital branding and marketing, global social media strategy, investment and risk management, digitalisation and strategy, global b2b OEM collaboration, or new world topics.

Cross-Cultural Consumer Behaviour (Corporate linked)
Tailoring to cross-cultural and multiculturalism knowledge, students will learn and work with a leading Swiss company to plan and design the latest portfolio of consumer journey, consumer touchpoints and activation methods. The learning process also adopts a psychological, technological, economical approach to consumer research and consumer behaviour analysis, and explores the implications for individual consumers, organisational consumers and international marketers.

Design Innovation for Organisation and Business (A Cross-disciplinary Practice-led Project)
This module brings design and business students together in a lab setting and coaching-based sessions. Participants are invited to study, debate and rethink their relationship to inter-, cross-, trans- and multi-disciplinarity while focusing on empirical and practice-based design and traction strategy for a real-life case from the industry.

Educational and Managerial Experiences (Intensive Learning Abroad in East Asia)
This intensive learning module provides students with the opportunity to connect and engage with students and companies in a foreign country’s businesses, education, and organisational and social cultures. Students will gain on-site knowledge of a country’s business and economic history, and experience how a country’s social innovation impacts its economy.

E-Governance and Public Service Orientation in Estonia (Intensive Learning Abroad)
This intensive learning provides students with a realistic experience of how public sector implements e-governance and applies service orientation. It also provides students the opportunity to experience, connect and engage with companies in the Baltic region. Besides cultural learning, students will develop an e-service idea and present their idea to an industry panel. There will be real-life topics from lecturers’ own experience such as e-voting, e-taxes, e-health, e-school, down to e-Christmas tree.

Emerging Topics in International Management
Global megatrends change societies and economies and challenge businesses. This module takes these trends as starting points and looks at the economic, technological, ecological, and socio-cultural sources and drivers of change. The module aims to raise students' abilities to deal with change and manage effectively and efficiently in a changing world. It will help students to understand where innovations come from, how they become established, and how they affect an organisation's performance.

Eurasia-Pacific Enrichment Economy (Intensive Learning Abroad, Hybrid Format)
This intensive learning provides students an opportunity to work on a natural resource-based project together with international corporate and academic partners. Some regional markets and public management remain misunderstood or not fully studied. There are opportunities to enrich the impending resources of a country in the Eurasia-Pacific region and the living of the local community based on their local natural resources if any. Students will gain a better intercultural understanding of lesser-known contexts while learning different styles of management, leadership, education, and its implication to economy, society and community.

Global Industry Immersion: Singapore & Switzerland (Intensive Learning Abroad, hybrid collaboration, pre- and post- onsite tasks)
The collaborative learning module between two groups of students in Switzerland and Singapore examines concepts, tools, and frameworks essential for business success in the global environment of Singapore/Switzerland. Through comprehensive lectures with a global framework, in-depth and thought-provoking project work, and industry site visits to companies, students will learn how companies manoeuvre the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment to achieve organisational efficiency and effectiveness for various stakeholders in the business ecosystem.

Global Economics Immersion: New York City, USA (Intensive Learning Abroad, including pre- and post- onsite tasks)
Students have an opportunity to learn from changemakers of global macro economy and corporate lecturers from the world of finance and technology expertise throughout the intensive learning experiences in New York City. Examine how the city on earth shapes the global economy and reinvents itself. Students will gain an understanding of the methods that undermined the market leading to the global economies’ profits, collapsed or challenging bankruptcy. Other learning experiences may include public-private economic partnerships, the workforce and business development initiatives, and topics related to planning, adaptive reuse, leveraging resources. Students also will dive into on-site research exploring the different cultures, diversity, community engagement and societal insights.

Innovation Academy (Online OR Intensive Abroad)
The FHNW MSc International Management programme is part of the EIA Global University Alliance. Students will take part in the world's leading entrepreneurship programme, meet and learn from entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Students work on ‘real-life process of building a start-up from concept to launch,’ giving them the ‘know-how to make it happen’. In the past years, our students were in the winning teams and won several awards, including trademark award, provisional patent award, an expedited interview with venture capitalist, design mentoring award, business mentoring award and post-mentorship award.

Leading People in Changing Environments
Leadership is commonly held to be a key to organisational survival in strategic business environments distinguished by rapid and complex change. Students will learn to develop a ‘critical discourse’ about the nature and relevance of leadership in different business sectors and across diverse strategic business contexts, and demonstrable appreciation of the relevance and potential impact of leadership in environments characterised by change. The emphasis is on how systematic reference to leadership influences the choices people make - individually and collectively - as they respond to changing environments.

Independent Learning Module as an elective
Students can choose a module from the MSc Business Information Systems programme or an approved module from our partner universities abroad during the winter and summer break.

Modern Applied Technologies and Systems for International Managers
The elective module Modern Applied Technologies and Systems for International Managers aims to provide an overview of opportunities and challenges that modern technologies such as AI technology, social robots, large language models and interconnected platforms, among other technologies or systems, offer for international managers. You will have the opportunity to first co-identify with the challenges, the alternative usage scenarios, and to suggest innovative solutions to those challenges.

We aim to strengthen your practical learning with relevant and recent corporate challenges in addition to your professional experiences.

In one core module, individual student works with a corporate coach to evaluate the contexts for operationalisation that have relevance for future research. Another core module gives you an opportunity to engage with international coaches from six continents. You will work with cross-cultural teams on a real-life business project. A panel of international business advisory committee evaluates the outcome of the project.

For the empirical research modules, you work with at least one supervisor who has a relevant PhD qualification and has taught in the MSc International Management programme.